County commission hands Dolphins $15 million stadium subsidy for World Cup
Miami-Dade County could be paying the Miami Dolphins $15 million for Hard Rock Stadium to play host to World Cup soccer games in 2026 under an upgraded subsidy deal approved Tuesday.
In a unanimous vote, county commissioners endorsed reworking the original 2014 subsidy agreement for Hard Rock Stadium and lifting the yearly cap from $5.75 million to $7 million.
The board also added a separate $15 million subsidy for the Miami portion of the World Cup on top of the money that the Dolphins and the team’s billionaire owner, Stephen Ross, can earn that year for hosting a Super Bowl, Formula One race and other large events in the 65,000seat stadium or on its grounds. The stadium is privately owned and was built by Joe Robbie in the 1980s.
The administration of Miami-Dade Mayor Daniella Levine Cava negotiated the richer deal for the Dolphins, and the board’s outgoing chairman, Jose “Pepe” Diaz, added it to the commission’s agenda on Monday. It was made public shortly before midnight.
There was no debate on the proposal. Commissioner René Garcia was the only member to ask questions about the legislation.
“I’m not the biggest fan of giving public dollars to sports franchisees,” Garcia said. He ended up joining the rest of the board in approving the new deal, saying he was glad the tax subsidies are connected to the Dolphins attracting new events.
The agreement pays the Dolphins based on a list of potential large events outside of routine NFL games. The Super Bowl nets the team $4 million in county payments, while a college bowl game brings a $3 million payment. On Tuesday, commissioners agreed to create a $4 million payment for Formula One, an annual event at Hard Rock.
In June, the World Cup organizers picked the Miami area as one of 16 venues for the 2026 championship being held in North America with Hard Rock the designated soccer stadium for South Florida.
World Cup games pay $3 million each under the existing county agreement, and the new deal allows the Dolphins to collect up to
$15 million from the soccer event in 2026. The original deal came as Ross pledged more than $500 million in renovations, a figure that the team now says is closer to $1 billion when adding in the F1 track, new team training facility and other improvements.
“We are happy that the County Commission recognized this unprecedented private commitment, which will bring tremendous economic benefit to Miami Gardens and Miami-Dade County for years to come,” the team said.